There
are currently around 70 breweries operating in Poland. The distribution
is reasonably even around the country, but there is a slight preponderance
in the South and West - areas which were formerly under German or Austrian
control.

A majority still operate on a small scale and have an annual production of under 100,000
hectolitres. At the other end of the scale, there are a handful of large breweries
producing over 1 million hl. This group includes most of the better-known names such
as Zywiec, Okocim and EB (Elbrewery).
These companies seem to have been able to use their economic power to elbow their
smaller rivals off the pub bars. A handful of beers - EB Pils,EB
Red, Okocim Pils, and Zywiec Full Light
- have a ubiquity which soon begins to irritate. Draught beer from the smaller breweries
seems to be rare, even in their local area.

Since the denationalisation of most of the industry, most
of the larger concerns have been gobbled up by foreign multinationals. Heineken,
South African Breweries (SABMiller)
and Carlsberg now control a majority of the market between them.
Their domination will only increase with time. These international companies
have already "rationalised" their Polish operations, closing some
smaller breweries.

I
expect that life will become increasingly difficult for the smaller, more
old-fashioned breweries who lack the capital to invest in new equipment
or advertise their beers. In all likelihood, many will close, leaving half
a dozen large companies to take most of the market, as is the case in the
rest of Europe. The overall number of breweries may well remain around the
70 mark, however, with the arrival of pub-breweries. There are already a
couple, but this will surely increase. The only surprise was how long it
took them to start up in such obvious places as Warsaw or Cracow.

The 1990's saw a surprising number of new small to medium size breweries
start up from scratch. Some have grown to such a size (production of over
100,000 hl per year) that it is difficult to categorise them as micro breweries.
The beers which they brew are much the same as those from the established
breweries.

The current number of active breweries is 71. The breweries break down as
follows:

Vary greatly in size and age. I have included in this category all
new stand-alone breweries.

Brewpubs

3

The first brewpubs started to appear in the 1990's. They haven't
taken off as they have in some countries.

Microbreweries

-

It's difficult to define this category in Poland. Usually I would
include all the breweries founded since 1989. However, as some produce
in excess of 250,000 hl, the term "micro" isn't very appropriate.

Contract Brewers

1

Stary Krakow is the only one so far..

Polish
Beer Styles

Most
Polish breweries have have a half dozen or so products, for the greater
part pale lagers of varying strengths from 10.5 - 14% balling or 4 - 6%
alcohol. Most pale lagers are very fully attentuated, presumably with value-conscious
consumers in mind. The big sellers are around the international lager standard
of 5% alcohol and a density in the region of 11 -12° Plato.

As in the Czech republic, there is often no claim of a specific style, just
a reference to the original gravity in degrees Plato. Some beers are labelled
as Pils or Pilsener, but without much rigour or consistency. The term "Specjal"
seems to mean little more than a beer with a density of more than 12° Plato.
Even breweries in Silesia, which was long under German control, have not
retained German nomenclature such as Helles, Export or Bock.

Lower-gravity lagers (in the 9-10° Plato range) are unknown in most countries,
except for Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Polish breweries usually
make a couple. How to describe them in English is a bit of a problem, as
the terminology doesn't really exist. The German term "Schankbier"
is almost right, but doesn't usually cover beers of over 9° Plato. In my
Czech Breweries page, I've stuck to the
Czech designation "výčepní". This
is probably the most accurate term to describe the weaker Polish lagers.
They're meant to be serious beers, but are of a "session" strength.

Unsurprisingly, given the high degree of attenuation, most of the "full"
pale lagers tend to be light in body, dry and hoppy. The better ones can
be assertively bitter and stand up well in comparison to Czech beers of
a similar strength.

Many breweries have multiple brands of exactly the same strength and density.
In all likelihood, most of these are label beers. It's a bit frustrating
that there is so little variation. It's not uncommon to find six pale lagers
and nothing else in brewery's range.

Usually translated as "full light beer". It means a pale
lager of full strength, i.e. at least 10° Plato.Most Polish beers
fall into this category.

It covers beers in the Pilsner style and in the Export or Spezial
(Specjal) styles. Those at the weaker end are like a Czech "výčepní"
pale lager - a sort of session-strength Pils.

Piwo jasne mocne

6-9%

14-18°

A pale strong lager, a minimum of 14° Plato. It covers some beers
that could be classified as pale Bocks and others that fall between
a Spezial and a Bock.

Märzen

6 - 7%

14°

Amber lager. Though they don't use the name, there are a couple
of beers in this style.

Bock

7 - 10%

16-20°

Amber lager. There are some examples of this style, though not always
called Bock by name. The true Polish term is "Kożlak".

Piwo ciemne

6 - 7%

13-14°

Dark lager. Usually the strength of a Dunkles Export rather than
a Münchener. Not that many breweries still produce one and they are
a somewhat endangered species. Which is as shame as all the pale lagers
can get quite boring. Also called "Piwo czarne".

Porter

8 - 9%

18-20°

Strong porters, sometimes called "piwo ciemne mocne".
Usually the only draught alternative to pale lagers. True baltic-style
porters, they are too much on the treacle/cough medicine side for
some. In the last couple of years several breweries - notably the
Carlsberg owned ones, such as Okocim - have dropped their porters.
Currently around 10 breweries still produce one. Zywiec is the most
common and seems to be the only draught porter still made.

Top-fermenting
Styles

Poland's
only truly interesting indigenous beer style was Grodziskie,
a top-fermented smoked wheat beer. It was the last survivor of a style called
Grätzer (derived from Grätz, the German name for Grodzisk) and was once
popular across northern Germany. The only brewery producing it was closed
sometime in the mid-1990's. The owner, Lech, argued that continuing production
there was "uneconomical". So, that's one more beer style to cross
off the list.

The only top-fermented beer currently being mass-produced (that is, not
by a pub brewery) is a version of the Belgian pale ale Palm. The Belgian
brewery has bought into an existing Polish enterprise and helped them build
a new brewery. The new company is, slightly oddly, called Browar Belgia.

There are some amber beers which claim to be brewed to an Irish recipe and
have inspiring names such as "Belfast". Without any evidence to
the contrary, it is probably safe to assume that these are, in reality,
bottom-fermented beers of indeterminate style.

Grodziskie (Grätzer Bier)

Grodziskie was the only truly ingidenous Polish beer style to survie in
the second half of the 20th century. It was a top-fermented, smoked wheat
beer. It was the last survivor of a style called Grätzer (derived from Grätz,
the German name for Grodzisk) and was once popular across northern Germany.

"Polish beers. Poland especially likes white beers, of which
it has several excellent ones, for example Gräzer and Lobsenzer,
but mostly Waretsker Beer, of which the latter, when aged, resembles
wine in colour and clarity." "Oeconomischen Encyclopädie
of 1773

Grodziskie (or Grätzer as it was called in German) seems to have been quite
common pre WW 1, as the name crops up quite a bit. I recently found this:

Whats interesting is:
- Grätzer is the only specific style named;
- even the weakest bottom-fermenting beer is the same price as the best
top-fermenting beer.

I think its safe to assume that at this time Grätzer was pretty well-known.

In 1894 the district Posen (now the Polsh Poznań) had 158 breweries of which
101 were top-fermenting, producing between them 177,038 hl in the brewing
year 192/93. The 57 bottom-fermenting breweries produced much more - 307,800
hl. Which made the proportions 37% top-fermenting, 63% bottom-fermenting.
The only region producing a higher percentage of top-fermenting beer was
the Kingdom of Saxony at 41%. (Over the whole Brausteuergebiet percentage
of top-fermenting beer was 23%.) (Source: Zeitschrift für das gesammte
Brauwesen 1894, p.23)

In "Księga Piw i Browarow Polskich" ("Book of Polish Beer and Breweries"),
Tadeusz Kaczmarek, 1994 dedicates pages 266 to 274 to Grodziskie. Heres
a summary of the most interesting bits.

Its thought that it was first brewed sometime in the 14th century.

It was related to German Weissbier, but had its own specific taste
from the use of smoked wheat malt.

Its one of my lasting regrets that I never tasted Grodziskie, despite having
visited Poland when it was still brewed.

Where
to buy Polish beer
The German site appeti sells
a small range of Polish beers online.

Polish
Breweries

Statistics

Beer Production (1,000
hl)

1890

1950

1960

1970

1976

1979

1980

1984

1986

1987

1990

1992

1996

1997

6,000*

3330

6730

10,370

12,400

11,132

13,000

9,600

11,380

12,800

11,856

14,152

16,528

18,805

Notes:
* Based on the territory, at that time ruled by the German, Russian and
Austrian empires, which formed the independant Polish state after WW1.

In 1996 Poland ranked as the 8th largest producer of beer in Europe.

Beer Consumption
per capita (litres)

1938

1976

1979

1984

1986

1987

1996

1997

4.2

36

31

26

29

35

43.7

49

Number of breweries

1845

1846

1876

1891

1900

1914

1938

1939

1987

1100#

632#

397#

248#

500*

312*

144

138

78

Notes:
It should be remembered that the frontiers of Poland changed considerably
after WW2, making direct comparison difficult. It is consequently difficult
to make any direct comparison between the pre- and post-war figures. # Based on Polish territory within the Russian Empire only. * Based on the territory, at that time ruled by the German, Russian and
Austrian empires, which formed the independant Polish state after WW1.

Golden abbey beer. No indication from the brewery website if it's
top-fermented.

A subsidiary of Palm. It is, as far as I am aware, the only fullsize brewery
in Poland to top ferment.

In 1995 the Belgian Palm Brewery and the shareholders of the Kielce Brewery
set up a joint venture company called Browar Belgia. Development of the
old brewery location on Witosa Street was seen as too difficult, so in 1997
the decision was made to build a completely new brewery. A former food processing
plant in Kielce - Dyminy was selected as the new site.

The new plant, which opened in September 1992, uses some of the old buildings.
The offices, packaging (bottling) hall and warehouses have been put in existing
buildings. A completely new section has been built for the actual brewing.

The new plant is being built in stages. After the first stage was completed,
the annual capacity was 250.000 hl. The second stage, completed in Spring
2000 gave a capacity of 650.000 hl per year. At the moment the capacity
is being increased up to 1.25 milion hl per year. The aim is ultimately
to have a capacity of 3 million hl per year.

The brewery has an agreement with the Szczyrzyc Abbey to produce the Abbey
Beer Frater. The abbey had a substantial brewery (producing 250,000 hl a
year) which was nationalised in 1951. It was handed back to the abbey in
1993, but needed too much work and was finally closed in 1996.

Pale lager.
Malt and coriander aroma; sweetish taste with hop and cream aromas;
bitter finish with grass and spice aromas. An OK beer that could do
with a bit more malt. Not bad, though.

7

EB Full Light Pils

5.5%

10.5°

Pale lager.

EB Specjal Mocne

7%

14.5°

Pale lager - Spezial.

EB Porter

9.5%

22°

Bottom-fermented porter.

Palacowe Jasne

5.5%

11°

Pale lager. A beer from the closed Lancut brewery.

Palacowe Mocne

6.8%

14°

Pale lager - Spezial. A beer from the closed Lancut brewery.

Gdanskie

6.2%

12.5°

Pale lager. From the now closed Hevelius brewery in Gdansk.

Hevelius Classic

6.8%

13.5°

Pale lager - Spezial.. From the now closed Hevelius brewery in Gdansk.
Hop aroma; bitter taste with hop and butter aromas; very bitter finish
with wood and hop aromas. A beautifully bitter beer.

8

Hevelius Kapper

8.1%

20°

Amber bock. Pasteurised. From the now closed Hevelius brewery in
Gdansk.
Flowery aroma; sweet taste with fruit, apple and wood aromas; very
bitter finish with hop and caramel aromas. An excellent bittersweet
beer. A very good example of an amber bock beer, though it doesn't
call itself that.

Formerly the largest brewery group in Poland, under the ownership of an
Australian investment group, Brewpole. In 1997 it bought the Hevelius brewery
in Gdansk. In 1998 it was itself absorbed by Heineken, who already controlled
Zywiec. This new grouping is easily the largest brewing concern in Poland
with 39% of the market. Virtually every pub in Poland seems to sell EB.

As the group has closed its smaller breweries, many brands have been moved
here.

Pale lager. Pasteurised.
Very pale yellow beer, with little flavour other a little hop bitterness
in the finish. Similar in style to many Polish beers, but not a great example.

5

Leżajsk Mocne

7.8%

15.1°

Pale lager. Pasteurised.
Stronger pale lager, with some malty sweetnes in the mouth balanced by a
good hop finish.

7

Dortmunder Strong

7.8%

15.1°

Pale lager - Export.

A large new brewery built between 1972 and 1977 as part of an attempt to boost
the country's beer production. Their products are typical of the mass-produced
Polish beers: quite light in body, highly-attenuated, with some spicy hoppiness
in the finish. Not the best examples of their styles, but acceptable, especially
in the higher strengths. The pils is widely available on draught.

Bottom-fermenting porter.
Liquorice, toffee and fruit aroma; very sweet/bitterish taste with toffee,
fruit and caramel aromas; bitter finish with coffee and burnt aromas. A
very good Baltic-style porter, exactly right for the type. The best Polish
porter I've had.

An old-established brewery, which, after operating on a fairly modest scale for the first
50 years, was already producing around 400,000 hl by tyhe time of the first world war. The
interwar period was rather more difficult and far smaller quatities were produced. During
most of this period, from 1851 to the German invasion in 1940, the brewery was owned by
the Götz family. The period after the Second World War again saw a rapid growth in output,
though initially this was only low-gravity beer.

The beers are lagered for periods varying from 4 weeks for the 9%, to 5 months
for the Porter. The brewery was thoroughly modernised in 1993 when conical fermenters
were installed. Theirs are some of the Polish beers more commonly found abroad.
Carlsberg are investing heavily in the brewery and hope to have production up to around
2.5 million hl by the year 2000.

A large independent regional brewery that seems to be holding its own.

The Brewery No. 2 in ul. Bernardynska 15 closed in 2001 with all production
being transferred to Brewery No. 1. The company's head office remains at the
old brewery site. There has been considerable investment in the ul. Kunickiego
brewery in recent years.
Browary Dolnośląskie Piast S.A.ul. Jedności Narodowej 204-210,
50-302 Wrocław.
Tel. 071 - 323-62-00
Email: marketing@browary-piast.com.pl
Homepage: http://www.browary-piast.com.pl/

A brewery with a long history which, between the wars, was one of the largest in Poland.
Large-scale investment after the war saw production double to around 400,000 hl. by 1950.
The brewery was privatised in 1991.

Pale lager.
Slight hop aroma, neutral flavour and a grassy hop finish. Slightly bland
and without the redeeming hop character of most Polish beers.

5

Zywiec Porter

9.2%

22°

Bottom-fermented porter.
Dark brown in colour with a toffee aroma and a sweet taste in the mouth.
There fruit and chocolate give way to a burnt, coffee finish. A pleasant
beer, but more like a doppelbock than a true porter.The bottled version
has more hop character and rates higher (8/10) than the draught version
described here.

7

Zywiec Piwo Zimowe

6.5%

13.7°

Pale lager. Seasonal - Winter.

Owned by Heineken.

The brewery was founded by the Hapsburg archduke Karl Albrecht in 1852, but did not start
brewing until 1857. (At this time the town of Zywiec - which is close to Cracow - was part
the Austro-Hungarian empire, in the province Galicia.) The first name was 'Arcyksiazecy
Browar w Zywcu' (roughly translated: The Zywiec Archducal Brewery) It's first beers were
in the local style, which had been brewed since the 16th century. In 1881 the brewery switched
to the production of porter and began to export. In 1891 a beer called simply 'ale' was
added.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the brewery was producing 130,000 hl annually,
of which almost a quarter was exported to other parts of the Austrian empire. Between the
wars, production rose to over 200,000 hl and it was one of the largest breweries in Poland.

During the Second World War the the brewery was confiscated by the Germans, but continued
to brew. When they withdrew tyey didn't have time to destroy the brewery, but much of
the equipment had already been looted by the occupiers.

In 1945 the brewery was nationalised and in the following years a there were a series of
major investments in modern equipment. The purpose of the modernisation had been to use
the brewery for the production of beer for export, which began in 1957. The style of beer
produced was now a 12.5° pale lager. The brewery became Poland's main beer exporter, accounting
for around 60% of the total by 1980.

The investment programme continued and production reached 850,000 hl in 1992. An extension
to the brewery in 1995 gave it a capacity of 2,000,000 hl. Zywiec was the first brewery
to be privatised. The 90's have seen continued investment in production facliities and
a rapid expansion in output. In 1998 plans were announced to increase annual production
to 6 million hl.